


The Ishtar Guardian

by Daisy_Senpai



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 19:05:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16331771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daisy_Senpai/pseuds/Daisy_Senpai
Summary: A Ghost resurrects her Guardian in the ruins of the Ishtar Sink on Venus. Join them on their adventures as they meet famous Guardians, battle infamous foes and forge their own legend in the New Golden Age. Oh, and dance their way through the galaxy.Set after the events of the Forsaken campaign, and the 2018 Festival of the Lost, Zelia-4 and her Ghost try to traverse the wallowing mood of the Tower, and the cracks beginning to show in the City formula. Running alongside the story of the remainder of Destiny 2's life cycle and beyond, Zelia-4's journey will be steeped with wonder, her own triumphs against the darkness and will ask Guardians which side they're on.





	1. Resurrection

 My body was stiff and creaky. I felt rested but drowsy as my body slowly powered up. My hearing and sight came to a moment later. It was dark, pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing, the pink lights of my eyes were useless in lighting anything up, except my hand really close. I knew my eyes were okay. You can tell when your eyes are closed and when its dark. They’re two different sensations. I leaned on my right arm and held my metal forehead with my left. I tried to remember things from before, this, whatever it was, but all I could see was a name; Zelia-4. And then a flash. I jolted my head up and hit it on something.

 “Ahhh. Fucking Rasputin. Leave me you bitch!”

 “Errrr, excuse me?”

 A light had brightened the room. Was it that light? No that was in my actual head. A floating blue eye with jagged bits was staring at me, using whatever to lighten up the room. I shouldn’t say things like that. I’m an Exo. I am a machine too. Both of us sound human though. Or rather, we have a personality.

 “C’mon. Eyes up Guardian.”

 We’re both female too.

 “Guardian? What’s one of them? And, where am I?”

 “Guardian, please tell me what you know.”

 She looked at me sternly. I could tell it was a stern look by the way her jagged bits moved around her cyclops core.

 “What I know? I’ve just been fucking whatever-ed by whoever the hell you are. I only know my name and this memory of a thing called Rasputin. Although judging by how sinister said memory is I should probably give Rasputin some more respect, whatever he is and wherever he is.”

 “Oh yeah he’s kinda everywhere all at the same time. He’s got satellites capable of either dropping at a very close range to you or firing big space lasers orbiting this planet right now.”

 “Oh good. I should probably shut up then.”

 “Wow!”

 The levitating spiky ball opened up her spikes in what I imagine would be an eyebrow raise, if she were flesh and bone. Or even Exo.

 “What?”

 “I’ve hit a stroke of balanced luck. I’ve resurrected a potty-mouth Hunter, the traditional type, that seems to learn that her mouth and what comes out of it has consequences. And she’s an Exo.”

 She began whizzing around my head excitedly. I had been ‘resurrected’ for five minutes and not been told a single thing.

 “Excuse me,” I interrupted her flying session, “but I’ve been resurrected, as you say, and not been told a single thing.” She stopped flying and looked me in my eyes and didn’t say anything. I sighed, and my yellow mouth piece dimly reflected off of her spikes. “My name is Zelia-4. That’s the only other thing I have a memory of now can you please tell me what the hell is going on!?”

 She nodded.

 “You are a Guardian, protector of the Traveler, warrior against the Darkness and wielder of the Light!” She paused. “And also, the wielder of a Ghost made gun!”

 A weight dropped into my hands. It was smooth and white. Formidable and felt like it could pack a punch, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I slid a magazine into the bottom. A little display showed that I had 36 rounds ready whenever I was. I aimed at a door button and squeezed the trigger. For a moment nothing happened. I squeezed again and this time the bolt slid back with tremendous speed and the weapon exploded into all its little inner workings. I looked at my hands, then at the Ghost.

 “Hey, I never said it was going to be any good.” She ‘picked’ up the pieces and went off to find a light switch console of some kind. What a great start to my new occupation, I thought.

 She found a console and got to work scanning it.

 “What are you anyway?” I enquired.

 “I’m a Ghost. More specifically I’m your Ghost. I’m tied to you for the rest of my or your life, whichever ends first. Technically you can’t permanently die unless I do first, however there are stories and legends of Guardians being killed by powerful dark forces, and their Ghosts being left behind to search for another Guardian. I’ve been searching for you since I was birthed from the Traveler.”

 She said all this while not even looking at me. After a brief period of silence, a door opened, and lights started to flicker on. I could finally see everything. I was in what seemed to be an old office of some sort. I turned around to see a desk, and underneath the outline of the foetal position. _So that was me, huh?_ I went over to some windows that were thick with a green grime that was impossible to see through, and a little hole at the top, where the- MY Ghost had come through.

 “Come on,” she said, “We’ve gotta find you a proper gun and a jumpship to get back to Earth. Its not too far away. I came here on another Guardian’s ship, but they’ve since left the planet. Either we find our own, or we wait in hope for another Guardian to pass by.”

 She floated off, so I followed behind her.

 "Where are we exactly? You said, ‘get back to Earth’, so that must mean we’re on a different planet, yes?”

 “You would be correct. Now enough talking, there could be anything around here, and you only have your knives and super, and they aren’t always available to you.”

 I did as she said and just followed her. Lights started to flicker on as we got near to them. Slowly but surely, I could hear more sounds of the outside. We got to an elevator shaft and she told me to jump down. What she didn’t tell me, is that I could jump again mid-air, to save myself. So, I broke my legs. Alive, but with broken legs. Out of nowhere my Ghost healed me up, and I was able to continue like nothing had happened.

“Remember to jump next time,” she said.

 We continued on our way, through more open sections of building until we reached a door that already seemed open.

“Brace yourself and put your helmet on.”

 It was bright outside, and quiet too. I was amazed at the green-ness of the whole place. It was like a jungle. It was a jungle, of buildings, plants and a strange looking ship, poking out of the ground.

 “Zelia-4, welcome to Venus,” my Ghost said. “I would say that you could take your helmet off, as the terraforming of the Traveler made it so that humans could breathe in other worlds, but there is such a strong presence of sulphur here that you’re likely to throw up.”

 I stopped walking. My Ghost noticed and turned around. “What?” she said.

 “I’m an Exo. I don’t need to breathe, and I can’t throw up. I don’t have a stomach.” My Ghost looked at me, holding a stare for a long moment.

 “We need to get you to Clovis Bray. I’m not teaching you about the anatomy of your own body.”

 We walked for a while, through old buildings still powered with lights, both human and seemingly not. We walked past different species of alien. The ‘Fallen’ or Eliksni, as my Ghost preferred to call them, and the ‘Vex’, a robotic army connected to a hive mind, apparently dating from the distant past and also the distant future. We ignored them and moved on, too powerful for a Guardian with no weapons but her light. We came across a blue orb, resting on the ground. And ‘Engram’, my Ghost called it. A rare one. On picking it up in my hand, it immediately decoded into a yellow Ghost shell. My Ghost applied it to herself, happy at her new appearance, and we continued. We went through buildings that looked like research sites, my Ghost explaining its history, telling me a story of a Fireteam of Guardians, one of them being a brilliant, silent Guardian with no name and an uptight Ghost, working their way along our very path to defeat a big Vex creature deep underground.

 We eventually came off the beaten track and found ourselves in an opening, looking like a crossroads. An old sign read ‘OWT – Off World Transit. We followed our way there.

 “I don’t think we’re going to find a jumpship here, Zelia.”

 “You never know. You said this place was home to the greatest minds of the Golden Age. There surely has to be something around here.”

 “This is a metro. We aren’t going to magically find a flying subway carriage.”

 I ignored her. We went on, finding ourselves in a dark tunnel.

 “No signs of the Darkness here, or any enemies. Strange,” my Ghost said.

 “Do you have a name?” I asked her.

 “What, me? Ghosts don’t really have names. A few gave themselves a name, while some let their Guardians choose one for them.” She shied away from me. Just like myself, she wore he heart on her sleeve. Metaphorical sleeve, of course.

 “Okay. I shall name you… Tamiko!” I awaited my Ghosts approval. She stayed silent for a moment or two, until she burst with excitement and snuggled into the crux of my neck. I could hear her shell lightly knocking on the side of my helmet as she did so.

 “I love it!”

**So, the story of Female Exo Hunter Zelia-4 and her Ghost, Tamiko, begins in the Ishtar Sink on Venus, as they wander their way down an empty metro tunnel looking for a way back to Earth, crossing old carriages and the remains of the Ishtar Collective’s members. They are doing well, with Zelia-4 being resurrected for three hours with no deaths. Every Guardian remembers their first death after revival, and Zelia’s was about to become a famous one…**


	2. The Tunnels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelia-4 and Tamiko continue through the ruins of the Venusian Off World Transit system, still in search of that elusive way home. Unbeknown to them, it hits them straight in the face.

 The tunnels were as dark as the room I woke up in mere hours before, save for the occasional flicker of an old billboard on a carriage. Tamiko’s light brightened up our way brilliantly, although it could not reach even the furthest point from us. She said to me that nobody had been down these tunnels since the Collapse, and that every bone we saw once belonged, and in a way, still did, to a member of the Ishtar Collective. Given that I was resurrected in a building in the Ishtar Commons, it is probable that I was once part of the collective, perhaps one of the few that remain. Whatever my reason for being on Venus was before my initial death, it mattered little now. My memory of anything to do with the Collective was gone, and the chance of finding a terminal of some kind with old login details was slim. However, the Venusian metro felt familiar to me. Perhaps my being an Exo meant I had some connection to the Clovis Bray facility, located somewhere along the many lines of the Off World Transit. The chances of that were, also, very slim.

 “Researching your past as a Guardian is something considered very taboo by the Guardians of the last city, you know. If you even have the slightest curiosity in learning of your past life, you best make that abundantly clear to any ranking person once we get to the Tower. Or, you could just completely ignore the Tower altogether, and we could roam the galaxy like a Guardian of the Dark Age.”

 The Dark Age Guardian gaff seemed like a nice idea, but despite being dead for over 700 years, and having no memory of a time before now, I felt an immense loneliness. The presence of Tamiko eased that loneliness, but I would be adventuring with her, and mainly her, for the rest of my life. It would be nice to establish some alliances and friendships early. After all, I am practically immortal now, and even a Guardian would be likely to go crazy with only their Ghost to talk to and confide in. I would learn about Tamiko as we spend more time together. No need to push that, unlike with a fellow Guardian or member of humanity.

 “What is the situation in this ‘Tower’?” I asked Tamiko, innocently. I could tell from her initial expression that everything wasn’t the best.

 “The situation in the Tower is very… complicated, to say the least. A lot has gone on within the past year or so that has irked the Vanguard, the people of the City, and the whole Consensus itself. It’s a rocky road there at the moment. A lot of Guardians I know are trying to spend as little time there as possible, now that the Festival of the Lost is over. It’s the City’s tradition of remembering those loved ones who we have lost. In recent years it has been more of a fun time for Guardians to collect masks and candy, but with the events of the last year, this year’s festival truly lived up to its name. Here, lets rest in this carriage a while, we’ve been walking for a long time.”

 I sat down on the battered seats of a derailed carriage, the advertisements for the other transit lines reacting to our presence. One of them seemed to trigger a motion in my head, a faint memory perhaps. But it was a fleeting moment, gone almost as soon as it had appeared. For the fist time since my resurrection I had the chance to take in the armour I was wearing. It was minimal, mostly an old brown leather type material, with the plating coloured white, like Tamiko’s original shell. It was skinny, firm against my legs and body, allowing for maximum movement and comfort. The gloves were a sort of rubber compound, with spikes on the knuckles should I need to punch an enemy. ‘That’s Titan behaviour’, Tamiko had told me previously. I took my helmet off to inspect it. It too was brown but had a pitch-black window on the front that reflected any light straight off of it. It had a breathing apparatus attached to the front that extended up one side and attached again at the top of my helmet. My cloak’s hood covered this part mostly, although for now it was just a white hood, with not much of a cloak to see. The inside of the helmet had a small inscription that read, ‘ _Hastily fashioned by your Ghost to offer you a small amount of protection as you make your way back to the Traveler – The Light’_. I kept it in my lap as Tamiko began to retell the events of the last year and a bit, and the current state of the City and its Guardians.

 “To be truthful, Guardian, the city is approaching a breaking point. Possibly not like the Faction Wars in terms of violence, but in terms of impact. Last year, on the anniversary of an infamous battle known as the Battle of Six Fronts, the Cabal made their way to earth, after a message reached them that was sent two years prior, calling for assistance from the main Cabal empire. The Cabal are a destructive species, knowing no words for retreat and would rather blast a whole planet and its moons to pieces than fly around it. They caged the Traveler, cutting off the Light to all Guardians and Ghosts, rendering Guardians mortal. Many died within the city, some while trying to escape, and others died attempting to set up rallying points for a resistance on planets such as Titan. As you have probably guessed, the Traveler was uncaged, after the Cabal leader, Dominus Ghaul, was killed by that Silent Guardian I mentioned earlier, who had connected to the light again, via a shard of the Traveler. The Traveler awoke for the first time since the collapse, but those who had died could not be revived, including the Speaker, the leader of the Guardians. Nobody has yet replaced him.”

 The tunnels grew even more silent. I could feel the pain, hear the screams of those departed, like traces of their life left on the web of the Light.

 “Then, everything was pretty alright for a while. Guardians came into contact with an exiled Vanguard Commander, and a Bray family Hunter, presumed dead, also searching for her past, and took down a Vex mind and a Hive Worm God in the process of both. However more Guardians were lost to the Hive on Titan, and the orders of Commander Zavala repeatedly ignored by the Silent Guardian, considered to be one of the most powerful Guardians around. This came to a head, after the recent death of the legendary Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6. He too was an Exo, and he was killed in the pits of a prison, with only the Silent Guardian, and a Reef Commander by his side. Now, the seat of the Hunter Vanguard is vacant, morale is low, and the Vanguard is in ruins. Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, and Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard, are now at the top of the chain of command, although they do not see eye to eye.”

 I sat for a moment, Tamiko letting me brood before continuing. I prepared myself for the looks of other Hunters when I entered the Tower, knowing that I had no Vanguard to report to, and that the mood in the Tower would be grey and low.

 “Zavala is now hesitant to authorise missions for Guardians outside of the City perimeter, fearing another attack by our enemies, and the loss of even more civilian and Guardian life. When the Silent Guardian vowed revenge for the death of Cayde-6, Zavala had already blocked Guardians from travelling to the Reef, in case it sparked another war. The Silent Guardian ignored this and went anyway, defying the Commander yet again. Revenge came, but it will have its consequences, something Zavala knows all too well. Whatever the Red War made him learn, his over thinking and brooding have reversed those lesson. Further still, a Guardian from the Dark Age has returned to the City, bringing with him an exercise for all Guardians, where they can use the power of the Darkness to battle other Guardians with, bringing back aspects of an age Zavala helped end. Let’s keep walking.”

 We continued out of the carriage and headed in the direction we were going before. It was a lot of info to take in, even for an established Guardian. Tamiko had realised this and allowed me to brood more on the situation before again continuing. The darkness of the tunnels now started to weigh down on us both. There was no presence of any enemies. I felt like a purifying sponge scraping through grime, cleansing as I went. After a few minutes the weight lifted.

 “Ahh, it appears we are now closer to an opening than the entrance we came in.”

 “Is that so?” I added. “So, what is this Ikora’s stance on it all then?”

 “Ahh Ikora. One of the greatest Warlock to have ever lived. She seems to be part of the split. She and Zavala agree on as many things as Vex Goblins have eyes nowadays. A keen advocate for revenge against Cayde’s killers, and the person that gave the Silent Guardian the location of Cayde’s killers, she has been encouraging Guardians to follow Visions of the Light, should they appear, leading many Guardians to Io. She has been starting to hold a small bitterness towards Zavala, since his continued strict stance following the reclamation of the City and the Light. This will likely grow in the coming months.”

 Tamiko could sense that I was thinking something grave.

 “Don’t think that Zavala is a bad Guardian or Commander. He has led the City and the Guardians to numerous victories, both as the Commander and before as an apprentice. He’s had a lot to deal with the last year. My advice, you either get in close with him, or stay away. Try to change his mind if you wish, but if he can’t agree with Ikora, then I doubt he’ll agree with you. But regardless of what you do, give him some love. Not that kind of love, but the platonic kind, because if anyone needs it right now, its him. He’s nearing breaking point, Zelia, be kind to him.”

 After that we continued to walk in silence, Tamiko still lighting the way for us both. She stared ahead, not looking at me. It was clear that it had taken a great deal to speak about this with me. _A lot of Guardians I know…_ , Tamiko had said. It seemed as though Tamiko may have lost friends, or at least contact with them after Cayde-6’s death, and that telling me of the situation with the Vanguard had triggered upsetting memories for her. I reached out to her, pulling her gently into the crook of my neck, holding her there with two hands. She turned off her lamp and let out a sigh, and she nestled onto my shoulders. I waited a few moments to let her cool off, my right hand still resting on her shell as she closed her eye. I stroked her shell, feeling for any dirt that might have found its way onto her shell. We stood there longer still, until she readied herself.

 “Guardian? May I stay on your shoulder? I don’t feel like floating right now.”

 I nodded, and she lit up the tunnel again and we went on our way, Tamiko bobbing in time with my body.

 We had been walking for maybe 20 minutes when we heard voices up ahead. Light started to seep into the tunnel around the corner. Mesmerised by this I lost focus of where I was stepping, and I tripped. The voices up ahead stopped and there appeared to be a scuttling noise. I was reassured that it wasn’t the Eliksni. I didn’t have anyway to tell, but I had an odd feeling it wasn’t them. Tamiko was back to floating now, alerted by the presence of life beyond foliage. Nothing came up on my radar. We found ourselves looking at a tangle of iron roof supports, which I immediately started to clamber through. Tamiko resigned herself to my backpack, her little pocket dimension where she can still communicate with me, and others over comms. I reached the other side of the iron bars and felt the odd sensation fluctuating and changing form as I looked around for the previously active people. I saw a bush move in a non-bush like way and readied a throwing knife. I was just about launch at the bush when something leapt out from behind me, and hit me square in the head, feeling the impact through my helmet. All I caught sight of was a singular twisted horn, and an electric first heading straight for me, and I clattered to the ground. I, Zelia-4, was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter I wanted to convey my feelings about certain main NPC's, and how they could possibly be feeling after the death of Cayde, and what I feel could result from this. It was quite wordy for this one, and more orientated to setting the universe wide scene and establishing where Zelia's journey begins in relation to the Destiny timeline.


	3. Lord Shaxx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelia-4 meets the Crucible handler and fights alongside him to reclaim lost territory. On their journey home, he reveals some information about current Tower affairs...

 With a strange sensation, I was back. Tamiko was staring at me and not saying anything. It seemed she was checking my body for injuries.

 “Nope, no lasting damage. Except for her helmet. Seems even a resurrection can’t solve that. You really hit her hard, Shaxx. Too hard.”

 “I know, and I apologise, Ghost. Being in the tower for so long has made me a little jittery.”

 “More like that Titan blood coursing through your veins.”

 “Hehe, maybe. At least it’ll be a good story to tell other Guardians.”

 “C’mon Zelia. Get up.”

 I got to my feet and took my helmet off. There was a crack across the whole screen of my helmet, its epicentre in the middle. What looked like electricity was sparking off of it. I lightly tapped the cracks, and the middle of the helmet fell out.

 “I don’t think you will get anything out of that. I’m sorry, Guardian.”

 I looked up to see a great hulking figure standing with his fists on his hips and his feet in a powerful stance. He had fur strung around his shoulders, a gun holstered on his right leg and he wore a helmet with horns, yet one was missing. He had a soft yet demanding voice. With him was what looked like a barebones Exo. However, it didn’t have eyes, as such, and bore a big red symbol in the middle of its chest, with two white swords crossing each other in a defensive motion. It didn’t speak at first and kept its ‘eye’ on me the whole time.

 “My name is Lord Shaxx, and this is one of my best combat frames, or Redjacks, Dahlia 99-40. I run something called the Crucible in the Last City. It appears you’re a kinderguardian.”

 I was stunned.

 “I apologise for punching you so hard and breaking your gear. This place has had no combatants apart from other Guardians for a long time. I thought you might’ve been a curious Vex Goblin or something.”

 I was, again, stunned by this Guardian’s introduction to me, his apology, and his thoughts on my appearance.

 “It is of course a coincidence that you are an Exo. I apologise for my rudeness.”

 I was silent. I couldn’t conjure up any words to reply with as this towering figure stood with such pride. Instead, Tamiko responded for me.

 “Thank you, Shaxx. Now if you wouldn’t mind, we’re trying to find a way to get back to the City and the Tower. I wouldn’t suppose you would be able to help us, would you?” She spoke with such conviction for someone who’s Guardian just got punched to death.

 “It would be the least I could do, but not yet. Me, Dahlia and a host of other Redjacks are on a field mission to secure this area. The place where we’re in right now is a Crucible map we called ‘Last Exit’. We lost contact with it during the Red War, and we’re now trying to reclaim it for Crucible use. I would value your help. In return you’ll get to keep the gear I give you, I’ll take you back to the Tower and you will have my blessing for your first Crucible match. Is that a deal?”

 Before Tamiko could reply, I butted in.

 “Deal.”

 “That settles it. Tell me Guardian, what’s your name?” Lord Shaxx asked me.

 “My name is Zelia-4, and this is my Ghost, Tamiko.” I responded dutifully.

 “Ahh so you’ve given her a name. Delightful. Tell you what. I shall give you one of every weapon type, so you can choose what is your favourite setup. And one final thing, what is your subclass?”

 My subclass? I wasn’t sure what that was. Tamiko spoke for me again.

 “We don’t know. Since she’s had no weapons up until now we’ve been avoiding any confrontation. I couldn’t say for sure whether she’s Solar, Void or Arc.” She turned to me. “Okay, so, to find out what subclass you will use, just relax, close your eyes and reach out. You should be able to feel the Light course through your body. When you feel something familiar, reach out more and grab it.”

 I stood there, in front of three people I didn’t know all that well, in a compromising position with my eyes closed. I put my arms out in front of me and relaxed. I felt something run across the tips of my fingers. It felt like a weapon I could wield. It was hot and aggressive, but it subsided. Then the purity of what I felt must be Arc energy rested around me. I turned my hand around, so my palm was facing up. Something fell into my hand. It had a significant weight to it, but it wasn’t too heavy. I tried to grab it, but it slipped from my grasp, and an uncomfortable sensation pulsated through my body. Then something that mixed purity, with a hint of darkness fell around me. I bathed in it. It felt as if my whole life had been moving towards this very moment. I couldn’t feel a weapon, instead I felt more connected to the light than before. I took my right arm down, and moved my left out to the side, and held my hand at an angle. Something was forming, but it could not tell what. I knew the moment was right, and I seized the object, and pulled it from thin air. I opened my eyes. What was now in my hand was pure Void light, shaped like a bow and arrow. I stared at it, felt its power in my hands. I turned around and saw an opening and rushed towards it.

 There it was. A shattered coast right along side a metro station. I held the bow up to the sky, pulled on the string and let go. A dazzling arrow of Void light shot into the air and out of sight.

 “So, a Nightstalker huh? This should be exciting. Great for taking out large groups of enemies or ploughing as much damage as you can into one powerful enemy.” Shaxx had emerged from the hole I came through, with Dahlia in tow. “I watched you activate yourself just now, and let me just say, the Void reacted to you just like it does to Ikora. That’s something to wear with honour, Guardian. Not many others can say something like that.”

 I smiled at Shaxx. This Guardian that I had just met had so much confidence in me, for someone so new to everything.

 “Okayyyyy now we have that out the way shall we get on with scouting and re-securing this area? I love Venus, but I really want to get back to Earth.” Tamiko had gotten tired. She had been scouring the planet for long enough to find me and she just wanted to get home.

 “No problem you two. This way.”

 We walked back through the wall I came through earlier, and we walked through more tunnel. It was brighter than mine and Tamiko’s original journey. A ship landed near by and dropped off a large amount of Redjacks, similar to Dahlia, but not as experienced. Shaxx explained to me about the history of the Redjacks, about Dahlia and another Redjack like her, Arcite 99-40, and about their most vicious battles to gain Crucible territory. He said that this one, dubbed ‘Last Exit’, because of a message that was displayed on all of the working digital displays around the area, was relatively easy to secure with no opposition from any of the factions in the area. We did a sweep of the area, secured it and the Redjacks were carted off again, back to the City. Shaxx’s Ghost called his Jumpship down from orbit, and picked him, Dahlia and me up and we left Venus behind.

 The journey was relatively short, but it allowed me to talk to Shaxx, while Tamiko got some rest. I sat behind him in a makeshift seat next to a powered down Dahlia.

 “My Ghost, Tamiko, told me earlier about Commander Zavala, and how he seems to be losing grip of the Guardians in the system.”

 Shaxx didn’t say anything, choosing to stare ahead. He sighed.

 “You didn’t hear this Guardian, but, I wish I could be closer to Zavala.” I stared at him. “We used to be okay with each other, both apprentices under the guidance of Lord Saladin, the last Iron Lord, until the Battle of Twilight Gap. I disobeyed orders given by Saladin and chose to lead a counterattack. It worked, but that didn’t matter to Saladin. Or Zavala. We fell out. Saladin and Zavala remain close, but we distanced ourselves from each other, too stubborn to calmly talk things through. Now though, I wish we could.” He stopped for a moment to think.

 “It isn’t so much that Zavala has lost the Guardians, it’s more that the Guardians have lost touch with reality. Many believe that they can take on the universe, believing that getting their light back after the Red War was easy, thinking that if the Red Legion could be foiled after taking their light, that nobody else could touch them. Because of this behaviour, many Ghosts now have complicated relationships with their Guardian.”

 Shaxx looked over at where Tamiko was resting, on his dashboard asleep. He continued.

 “Some Guardians have climbed down from their high horse since Cayde’s death, although they are mainly Hunters, with no Vanguard to guide them. Others seem to seek glory, behaving like the Warlords did before Guardians were called Guardians. Some have managed to keep a level head, mainly people like Marcus Ren and Redrix-3. Heh, all these high and mighty Guardians make Osiris’s fanatic followers looks sane. Maybe having him around wasn’t so bad. I’m still waiting on an old lightless Hunter too; her name is Eris Morn. Nobody knows where she went, save for Ikora, but I could really do with her knocking a few of these Guardians down a peg or two. She was good at that.”

 Shaxx fell silent. Then he broke it a final time.

 “The final thing I will say on this matter is this; make your own way as a Guardian, but don’t lose your head. Too many already have. When the time comes again to defend the City, defend the Traveler, we may not have our Guardian saviour, and we might have to call upon you, so make sure you’re grounded when that happens.” Shaxx fell silent again.

 I turned in my seat and faced Dahlia, who was still powered down. I could see an array of marks on her, from bullets and more sinister things. Various bits and pieces of varying ages. She was a rag tag frame, with not much of her original innards remaining, save from her personality. I could see parts that felt oddly familiar to me, parts that were most likely inside me too, but perhaps less advanced than mine. Tamiko floated in silence. She looked asleep. Wait, do Ghosts have eyelids? Well they have something similar I would imagine. Tamiko blinked. They do. Is this a different type of rest than last time? I checked my inventory and looked at my armour. It was battered and beaten, clearly used by a Guardian familiar to being in the thick of it. “Gravebreaker”, it said, followed by various dotted numbers. It was comfy, and gave me a decent amount of protection, more than my previous set. I checked my primary. “Duke Mk.44”. It too was battered, but still held its own. It was a nice red colour but needed touching up. I’ll do that when we reach Earth.

 I felt the ship rattle and looked out of the window. Everything seemed to slow down and fall back, and then out of nowhere appeared a strangely familiar place. I was shocked, and then felt a sharp and dull pain in the centre of my head. I collapsed to the floor holding my head and what sounded like small whispers filled my ears. I opened my eyes and saw my arms, and actually, the rest of my body, pulsating a mixture of faint blue, orange and purple light.

 “Guardiaaaaaaaaaannnnn!”

 A bellowing Shaxx was leaning over me and my pain instantly went along with the light. I got up and shook myself off and looked at Shaxx.

 “I don’t usually swear, Guardian, even at the most frustrating Crucible matches, but what the fuck was that?”

 “Trust me when I say I don’t know what the fuck that was. Probs just some Exo bullshit.” I replied.

 “Huh. Okay. Well, we’re here. Earth. We’ll be at the Tower in no time so hold tight.”

 Shaxx got back into his seat like nothing had happened. I looked at Tamiko who was still floating, blinking every so often. Odd way to rest, I thought.

 

 

 The crisp air hit me like a tonne of bricks as we dropped into the tower. It was night-time, and the city was sleeping. The Tower was nearly empty, a few Guardians hanging about here and there but nothing much else.

 “We’re here. Back on solid ground. Use that armour and weapon well Guardian. I look forward to your first performance in the Crucible.” And with that, Shaxx was gone, with Dahlia in tow. I looked down at the city and leaned against the railing. Tamiko came to my shoulder and stayed quiet. Above it was the Traveler. The entity that gave me my powers and that had birthed Tamiko. It looked graceful up there, cracked with pure light flooding out of it, bits of machine poking out.

 “Guardian.”

 A voice called to me from my left. I turned to see another Titan stood before me with shiny silver and red armour. He was bald, blue and middle aged. I looked into his eyes. There was something behind them, being held back. Memories and feelings repressed. They had a mind of their own, battling behind the glassy orbs for dominance, wanting to escape. He blinked, and another wall of defences rose up in an instance to push back against emotion. He blinked another few times, and I lost what I was looking at. Everything, the memories, feelings and the rest gone. They had lost the battle in the never-ending war, out of sight to anyone lucky enough to get a look. It was sad. I could see his pain, but he couldn’t see the way out

 “Yes. Zelia-4 reporting, Commander.”

 “You know who I am. Good. That speeds things along a little. I understand that you have just got here, hitched a ride back with Lord Shaxx, even got some gear out of it all. Good. You’re further along than most are at your experience level. I would like you to come and meet me here in two hours. I want to discuss something with you. You will be meeting members of the Consensus, so make sure you’re there on time and looking your best.”

 He gave me a map. A physical map. It showed a room to the left side of the Tower, only accessible via ventilation tunnels. I didn’t bother to question it. Zavala walked away from me and walked along an outstretched walkway to the end and leaned, like I had, against the railings and stared down into the city and at the Traveler. He was stiff. I could see he wanted to relax. His head turned to the right and her stared blankly out. I realised her was watching me. I left him to it and went to sort out my gear.

 He’s an enigma, I thought, but I can crack him.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a second attempt at forging a story in a pre-existing world, one that I know well and have been a part of since just after The Dark Below DLC released for Destiny 1. Expect this one to be a longer running series than my other stories. Hope you've enjoyed it and I can't wait to write more!


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